TF2 now out on Mac

Team Fortress 2 finally arrived on the Mac on Friday morning, accompanied by an update for both Windows and Mac users that includes a new offline training mode, a completely revamped game menu and a bonus item exclusively for Mac players.

While the new game menu (pictured above) might cause some confusion at first, it does a good job of exposing new developer updates (under the messages tab, closed in the screenshot above) and your statistics. The “Start Playing” button launches the server browser, while the “Character Setup” button brings you to the equipment menu.

The big new addition to the game is the Offline Practice mode, accessible from the little target board icon on the “Start Playing” button. Offline Practice allows you to play with AI-controlled bots in four maps: cp_dustbowl, koth_nucleus, koth_sawmill and koth_viaduct. There’s three levels of difficulty to select from. Your AI teammates actually perform decently, although sometimes they do need a little push to successfully capture control points. Overall, it’s a polished experience compared to the beta AI bots Valve released in December last year.

If you play TF2 on the Mac this weekend, you’ll will get a pair of earbuds in-game to pimp out your characters. What if you don’t own a Mac? Just get a friend who does to log into your account and play a round of TF2 for you. Make sure you trust him or her not to mess with your Steam account though!

Oh, and one last thing…

The Mac trailer has a hint of a new weapon for the Engineer – an ornately decorated shotgun, with what looks like some sort of sight or aiming attachment on the side (pictured above). I’d say this means the long-awaited Engineer Update is coming soon. What do you think?